The Invitation
by elisheva
Summary: A piece of mail received causes unwanted memories of the past.


**AN: Just my crazy idea, not my people.**

Allison Cameron had seated herself comfortably behind her boss' desk, enjoying the moments of peace before the rest of her co-workers came in. She took a sip of the piping hot, fresh, coffee from her new Christmas gift- a blue mug announcing "with enough caffeine I can rule the world". It was her favorite gift of the year.

Allison glanced at the pile of mail on the desk, amazed at how much they received daily, before diving into the lopsided stack of envelopes and glossy magazines. She took a couple of minutes to skim through the new PDR- Physicians Drug Reference- happy for the new year addition. It contained updates of currently available medications along with information of developing drugs and generics the doctors could substitute. Finally she placed the book to the side, vowing to read it in detail later.

The first letter she opened was a plea for help and although she had read tons of such words and had worked under a heartless bastard doctor for years Allison couldn't bring herself to not read it.

A wife writing for her ailing husband. The family doctor unable to diagnose him from the resources he had. Hospitalization not an option with no insurance. Small Town, USA. She had listed all the symptoms and diagnoses. Allison placed the paper to the side to see if a phone consultation could be performed.

Requests for an interview and attendance to lectures were thrown in the trash. There was another letter for a sickly family member and, after reading what was written, she put it too aside to see if Dr. James Wilson could consult as head oncologist.

Near the bottom of the stack she came across an envelope with stiff contents but Allison was in her zone and opened it without preamble. Another smaller envelope contained a sheet of paper. The flowers embossed around the edges made her pause and she turned over the discarded main envelope to see it had been addressed to her.

_-Mr. and Mrs. George Kinney Jr. requests the honor of your presence of the marriage of _

_Elizabeth Jane Kinney and Nicholas Jacob Cameron _

_Saturday the first of March _

_Two thousand and eight at two o'clock in the afternoon _

_St. David's Cathedral Boston, Massachusetts-_

She sat numb for a while, staring at the pretty ivory paper. Finally her trance was broken by the outer office door being slammed shut. Her boss, Dr. Gregory House, came forward, cane in one hand, his backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Meeting. Two minutes. _That_ office," he said, pointing to the conference room attached to the one she was presently in. When she didn't move immediately he raised an eyebrow. "That means get out of Daddy's chair or punishment will follow. Bad for you. Good for me," he added, snidely, smirking when she exited his seat.

Allison entered the adjacent room and was greeted by her co-workers she didn't even see come in. Drs Robert Chase and Eric Foreman waved from behind their crossword and newspaper respectively. "Hey, Cameron," Chase said, tapping his pencil on the conference table they sat at, "what's a ten letter word for 'wholesome'?"

"Asshole bastard," she muttered, though loud enough for everyone to hear.

Chase's eyebrows disappeared behind his blond hair that fell onto his forehead. "Um, I think that's too many letters, Cam," he attempted to joke.

She glared. "So not in the mood, Chase."

House thumped through the connecting door and placed Allison's forgotten mug in front of her. "If you are going to insist on using my personal area would you at least pick up after yourself?" He received her glare as well. He just smirked. "Alright. Who pissed on Rainbow Brite's pony?" Then he immediately looked to Chase.

"What? All I did was ask for a word for wholesome and she called me a quote asshole bastard unquote."

"Cameron!" House admonished. "Foreman's too young to hear such language."

The named man rolled his eyes. "Bite me."

The older man tsked. "Already turning him to your bad ways. Besides, if 'wholesome' and 'bastard' are synonymous then I need to work on my image." Then true to his ADD tendencies he turned to Chase. "How many letters?"

"Ten."

"Starts with..."

"Uh, S."

"'Salubrious'. I suggest you buy a thesaurus. Now, Cameron, where's that golden smile for Greggy?"

"Go away."

House leaned against his cane with both hands and tapped his fingers on the knob. "How long you been with me? You know that's not how this works."

"Don't we have a meeting?" she asked, trying to distract him.

He grinned. "This is more interesting." He reached out and pulled the crumpling paper from Cameron's hand, something she wasn't aware she was holding, and read what it said. "Blah, blah, blah. Names I don't know. Ooh. Nicholas Cameron. A brother perhaps?"

She nodded miserably.

Chase looked up. "Brother? I didn't know you had a brother."

House grinned with glee. "The plot thickens."

Allison removed her glasses and studied the table. "We haven't spoken in a while."

"What happened?" her boss asked nosily.

She opened her mouth to tell him to mind his business but the words slipped out. "He basically called me an idiot, a 'glutton for punishment' for marrying my husband."

House's eyebrows knitted. "I say the same thing and you always come back for more."

"He's my _brother_, House, not just some over-opinionated jackass. And he didn't say it in a private setting. He proceeded to tell everyone of my wedding guests exactly how he felt during his speech as best man at our reception."

"How non-passive-aggressive. I like it."

Chase spoke up, previously forgotten by Allison as the memories threatened to open. "What an asshole bastard."

She pointed her finger at him. "Exactly."

Foreman placed his paper down. "If it upsets you, Cameron, just don't go."

She shook her head, feeling the end of her ponytail tickling her neck. "It's not even that. i can't believe he had the balls to send it. I mean, they had to send it here because even my parents know about our rift and wouldn't give up my address."

House smirked wickedly, his blue eyes twinkling. "I think you _should_ go. And take me. I'll give them a speech to think about."

It made Allison laugh despite her mood. "That's almost sweet except I know you and you wouldn't be doing it for me but for your own amusement."

He shrugged but didn't deny it. "And now I'm bored talking about you. Alright, people, it's time to earn your little Christmas bonuses. The evil Mistress Cuddy attacked me in the hall and informed me the hospital needs donations and I had to help. Since she didn't like my idea of whoring myself out and since _I_ still pay _you_ it's up to you, my little ducklings, to come up with brilliant fundraising ideas I can pass as my own."

* * *

Allison was proud of herself, she decided as she looked in the bathroom mirror. She had nearly made it through the day. It was 4:45 before she had to disappear into the bathroom for a crying jag. All those years and Nick's words still broke her soul.

_"Look at the blushing bride. That's my beautiful sister, ladies and gentlemen. Today's her day and why shouldn't it be. It's her wedding day. And with just a few words she bound herself together to this man for eternity. But he's not going to last that long. As everyone probably knows, the new hubby is on his death bed. Sweet little Allie sacrificing her happiness and career to take care of the man that she loved. Seems a bit much to me but when you crave to be considered an angel that's what you have to do, isn't it, Allie. I guess to her it's not a waste to sacrifice for a bit of attention. She must be a glutton for punishment but maybe it'd be worth the acknowledgement she'll get as a widow. Congratulations, Allison. You'll finally get that sainthood you've been applying for all your life."_

The bathroom door opened and she bent her face over the sink to hide her red eyes.

"You going to stay all night in here or you coming to drink with me and Wonder Boy?"

Allison turned to look at House. "Are you inviting me out with you and Wilson?"

"Under two conditions. You wash your face so people know how cool I am to hang out with and you buy me a drink. And I'll throw in a speech for the upcoming nuptials."

She had to smile. "Deal."


End file.
